A wife who put rat killer in her husband's spaghetti bolognese poisoned her seven-year-old daughter's food 25 years ago, a judge revealed yesterday.

Swindler Heather Mook, 57, also previously stood trial for the murder of her 10-month baby but was cleared after a doctor ruled it was cot death.

Mook's shocking past was exposed yesterday after a jury found her guilty of endangering husband John's life. She fed him rat poison and dangerous anti-depressants to make him ill - to distract attention from her theft of £43,000 from his mother.

Judge Jim Spencer told the shocked jury how Mook also put antidepressants into daughter Teresa's food in 1982, again to distract attention from a fraud.

It was also revealed Mook had a string of convictions for dishonesty and deception and had been jailed for a £5million scam that fleeced friends, neighbours and a previous husband.

Mook married bus driver John, her third husband, in 1997. When his elderly mum Freda became ill she moved in with the couple and Mook began systematically stealing cash.

She began her poisoning campaign against dad-of-three John, 60, with the rat killer - then conned him into taking the anti-depressant amitryptaline. The tablets, which were prescribed for her, made John hallucinate and collapse and he was rushed to hospital.

York crown court heard Teresa had also been in hospital after Mook poisoned her. She made a full recovery.

Mook got probation after claiming it had been "a cry for help" but the case spurred police into probing the death of her baby daughter Louise two years earlier from "natural causes".

After an investigation Mook was charged with murder but cleared when a pathologist gave evidence to say the child died of cot death.

In 1991 Mook was jailed for three years over the cars and houses scam.

Last night John said Mook had just come out of jail when they met - but did not talk about it and he did not ask. He added: "I'd just split from my first wife and thought I was getting a second bite of the cherry."

Mook admitted poisoning, theft and fraud. She will be sentenced later.